United States Office of Water EPA-823-F-02-006

Environmental Protection 4305T April 2002 

Agency

National Beach Guidance and Required Performance

Criteria for Grants

Summary

The Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) is publishing National Beach

Guidance and Required Performance

Criteria for Grants. This document

contains the performance criteria that a

state beach program must meet to receive

a BEACH Act Implementation Grant. 

BEACH Act Implementation Grants

provide financial assistance to help states

operate beach water quality monitoring

programs, including notifying the public

when there are health hazards.

Background

The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act) was signed into

law on October 10, 2000, to reduce the risk of disease to users of the Nation=s recreational waters. 

The BEACH Act authorizes EPA to award grants to eligible coastal and Great Lake states and

tribes for the development and implementation of programs to monitor coastal recreational waters

for disease-causing microorganisms and to notify the public when monitoring indicates a public

health hazard. EPA made funds available in fiscal years 2001 and 2002 to help states develop

their programs. To be eligible for the implementation grants, states must establish and operate

monitoring and notification programs that are consistent with performance criteria provided in

this guidance document.

How Did EPA Draft the Guidance Document?

EPA developed the performance criteria based, in part, on a series of consultations with

representatives of state water pollution, coastal protection and public health agencies and other

interested parties. We noticed the draft of this document for public comment in the Federal

Register on July 31, 2001. To help the public review the draft guidance document and prepare

comments, EPA and the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control

Administrators and the Coastal States Organization hosted five public forums on the draft. After

the comment period closed on October 31, 2001, we revised the final document based on

comments.
Who Will Use the Guidance Document?

We created the guidance to help coastal and Great Lake state grant candidates implement

effective programs for monitoring and assessing coastal recreational waters and to promote

consistent programs across the country. Therefore, we expect that local health departments, water

quality managers, beach managers, and other local, state, and tribal agencies will also use the

guidance to improve their recreational water quality monitoring and public notification programs.

What Are the Major Components of the Guidance Document? 

The document contains five chapters and accompanying appendices which contain both guidance

and grant performance criteria. Chapter 1 describes the legislation and summarizes the human

health concerns related to microbial contamination of recreational waters. Chapter 2 outlines the

performance criteria. Chapter 3 introduces the risk-based beach evaluation and classification

process for prioritizing waters for monitoring. Chapter 4 gives the methodology for monitoring

and assessing recreational waters, and Chapter 5 explains risk communication and the process of

public notification for health hazards due to bacterial contamination. 

How Can I Get a Copy of the Guidance Document?

You can get a copy of the guidance document from EPA’s website at http://www.epa.gov/

waterscience/beaches/ or by contacting the Office of Water Resources Center at 202-260-7786 (email: center.water-resource@epa.gov); mailing address: Office of Water Resources Center, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, RC-4100, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

20460. Please request the National Beach Guidance and Grant Performance Criteria for

Recreational Waters (EPA-823-B-02-004).

For More Information

You can find more information on the draft Guidance document at

http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches on the Internet or call Charles Kovatch at 202-566-

0399 or send him an email at kovatch.charles@epa.gov.